Coffee Talk for Thursday, April 2, 2015

Today’s Focus is: Jesus Traded His Life for Ours

Carefully prepared just for you by your friend, Kelley Latta

Blessing:

Father, precious Heavenly Father… thank You for giving up Your Son for me. Forgive me for taking this great gift for granted. He… Jesus Christ… sacrificed His very life for mine… in order to rescue me from an eternal death and eternal punishment… a future I deserve. As I sit here, in Your presence… it’s only because of Him. I don’t want to miss one more opportunity that was bought with the blood of Christ. Lord, allow me to understand Your word. May it be obvious. May it take root within my heart and become a permanent part of my character. For its in Jesus name I pray, amen.

Daily Bread:

Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.

James 1:21, NASB

Main Course:

Jesus gave up His life to save you . . . to ransom your soul.

Have you ever stopped to consider what that really means?

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Three parts of you comprise your soul: your mind, your will and your emotions. Your thoughts, desires and feelings combine to make up who you are. Under the nurturing leadership of your Creator, these three echo His loving character and propel you toward abundant life.

But the soul of man didn’t remain under God’s loving care. Man’s choice to sin entangled our hearts with evil and bound our souls in slavery to darkness. Our thoughts, desires and feelings now lead us down the path of self-destruction.

Without Jesus’ intervention, we cannot trust our deceiving minds. Action taken in fear proves folly. Doubt paralyzes us into missed opportunity. Worldly logic defies God’s plans and tricks us out of His blessings.

Our feelings also betray us. We instinctively follow our hearts with abandon, unaware that “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick . . .” (Jeremiah 17:9, NASB)

Like powerful magnets, our desires draw us toward those things that are most harmful to us. Even the foods we choose to eat reflect the destructive nature of our will. We blindly follow the longings of our sin nature, discovering too late the consequences of our allegiance.

Jesus descended from on high to rescue your soul from darkness. He offers to restore dominion over your thoughts, desires, and feelings.

Will you allow Him to save your soul?

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Does logic hinder your ability to trust?

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Do you wrestle with fear and doubt?

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Against ungodly desires?

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Ask God to show you where He longs to set you free, and write it below. Invite Him to take control of you. Commit to give Him all of you—body and soul. Then follow Him to redemption.

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Closing:

Oh Jesus, sweet Savior, thank You for seeing me for who I was and who I really am and still stepping off Your throne in Heaven… for trading Your royalty for my shame… for bearing the burden of my sins… for taking my beatings… for carrying my cross… for dying my death. How heavy the weight of my sin must have been?! And yet You carried the world’s… the sin of each and every person who has ever walked the face of this glorious earth.

Father, forgive me for the times that I forget exactly what my freedom cost You… what it cost Jesus. Lord, may it not have been in vain. Place in me the desire to live the life Jesus died for me to. To embrace the Creator in the relationship Jesus died to restore. Let us not be silent about our love for You, and Lord, please, let our love for You be genuine! For it’s in Jesus name and because of His sacrifice we pray these things, amen.

Whatis God showing you through this study? We’d love to know. Leave us a comment below.

Do you have a relationship with Jesus Christ? Have you accepted His gift of salvation? Do you KNOW Him? If you have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and would like to, visit Extreme Encouragement today and begin one of the most meaningful relationships you will ever have.

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